New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Today I have been meditating on seventh component of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, "faithfulness". Faithfulness has the root word "faith" as a foundation. In the Greek it is the "pistis". This word is a total and absolute trust and reliance on God for all we have and do in life.
Faithfulness is a the part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that puts us in the right place to receive the blessings of God. Faithfulness is the quality of the Christian's character that keeps us in the life of God. Many people are not faithful. They seek God when they have a need, praise God when the get a blessing, and fall away when things are tough. Faithfulness is what is produced when you have real faith. Real faith allows you not only to trust God when things are going as you desire, but keeps you in a place of worship, service, and fruitfulness day in and day out.
Many people are on the threshold of receiving a blessing and that's when the enemy will come at you. He wants you to back off and move away from that threshold. If you aren't present in the faith you can get robbed of the joy that God has for us. Years ago, I heard the testimony of a missionary lady named Bertha Smith. She was a missionary to China during the Boxer Rebellion. She made two statements that have stuck with me for about 40 years. One of the young preachers at the conference asked Sister Bertha how she felt. She said she didn't take time to check her feelings. She said that it did not matter how she felt, she lived by faith and feelings will take you out of the realm of faith very quickly. She recommended that Christians stopped checking how they feel and get up every day committed to serving the Lord. The second statement she made was that she looked to the word and discovered where the blessings of God were being poured out and then she stood under the spout. If you don't operate in faithfulness you won't even be in the right vicinity for the blessing.
We need to make a commitment to our God that is a life-long commitment. When we start wavering, we will miss out on every blessing. We spend a lot of time looking for the "big" blessing from God. If we have this mindset, we will walk past all the little blessings that make life special. If we aren't faithful, all the other components of the fruit of the Holy Spirit are wasted and not used on a daily basis. I am determined to walk faithfully for God every moment of every day. That's what I've been thinking.....
Today I have been meditating on seventh component of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, "faithfulness". Faithfulness has the root word "faith" as a foundation. In the Greek it is the "pistis". This word is a total and absolute trust and reliance on God for all we have and do in life.
Faithfulness is a the part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that puts us in the right place to receive the blessings of God. Faithfulness is the quality of the Christian's character that keeps us in the life of God. Many people are not faithful. They seek God when they have a need, praise God when the get a blessing, and fall away when things are tough. Faithfulness is what is produced when you have real faith. Real faith allows you not only to trust God when things are going as you desire, but keeps you in a place of worship, service, and fruitfulness day in and day out.
Many people are on the threshold of receiving a blessing and that's when the enemy will come at you. He wants you to back off and move away from that threshold. If you aren't present in the faith you can get robbed of the joy that God has for us. Years ago, I heard the testimony of a missionary lady named Bertha Smith. She was a missionary to China during the Boxer Rebellion. She made two statements that have stuck with me for about 40 years. One of the young preachers at the conference asked Sister Bertha how she felt. She said she didn't take time to check her feelings. She said that it did not matter how she felt, she lived by faith and feelings will take you out of the realm of faith very quickly. She recommended that Christians stopped checking how they feel and get up every day committed to serving the Lord. The second statement she made was that she looked to the word and discovered where the blessings of God were being poured out and then she stood under the spout. If you don't operate in faithfulness you won't even be in the right vicinity for the blessing.
We need to make a commitment to our God that is a life-long commitment. When we start wavering, we will miss out on every blessing. We spend a lot of time looking for the "big" blessing from God. If we have this mindset, we will walk past all the little blessings that make life special. If we aren't faithful, all the other components of the fruit of the Holy Spirit are wasted and not used on a daily basis. I am determined to walk faithfully for God every moment of every day. That's what I've been thinking.....
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